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I found these two videos in Japanese which summarized the basics well (although they are far from comprehensive)

Duel Monsters' Part 2: Episode 1 'The Heart of the Cards' 'Hey, Joey

To determine the total cost of a spell, start with the mana cost or alternative cost you're paying (such as a flashback cost), add any cost increases (such as kicker costs), then apply any cost reductions (such as that of The Darkness Crystal's first ability)

Although similarly-named Pokmon-EX were present during the XY era of the TCG, they were always Basic Pokmon (or Mega Evolution), even for evolved Pokmon such as Charizard, meaning actual evolution cards (Stage 1 and Stage 2) became less and less used and the gameplay was focused more on hard-hitting Basic Pokmon